February, 2014
Mechanical engineering professor emeritus Barry Lichter died Feb. 1
Feb. 18, 2014—Barry D. Lichter, 82, professor of mechanical engineering and professor of materials science and engineering emeritus, died Feb. 1 in Nashville. Lichter, a native of Chelsea, Mass., received his bachelor’s degree in 1953 and his doctorate in 1958, both in metallurgy from MIT. Following research positions at the University of California Berkeley’s Lawrence Livermore Laboratory...
Valentine receives NSF Early Career award
Feb. 17, 2014—Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering Jason Valentine has received a National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development grant. The four-year, $400,000 grant – All-Dielectric Optical Metasurfaces For Controlling Wave Fronts – will allow Valentine to continue research that will lead to a new class of ultra-compact optical elements that can improve the performance and integration...
‘Harmony House’ scores a spot in international Solar Decathlon
Feb. 14, 2014—Team Music City, an interdisciplinary group from Vanderbilt University, Middle Tennessee State University and Habitat for Humanity of Greater Nashville, has been selected to compete in the Solar Decathlon 2015, a U.S. Department of Energy event that challenges students to design and build a functioning, energy-efficient, solar-powered house. This is the first time a Vanderbilt-MTSU-Habitat-Nashville...
Students connect with top recruiters at Career Day
Feb. 13, 2014—Nearly 350 first-year through Ph.D. students attended the Engineering and Information Technology Industry Career Day in the Student Life Center ballrooms Feb 11. Job seekers and students searching for internships networked with 43 companies from across the nation. The fair is hosted by the Center for Student Professional Development and offers a smaller, more intimate...
Fauchet participates in engineering public policy colloquium on Capitol Hill
Feb. 13, 2014—Vanderbilt Engineering Dean Philippe Fauchet participated in the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) public policy colloquium in Washington, D.C. Feb. 11-12. This annual event brings more than 100 engineering deans from across the country to the nation’s Capitol to talk about the issues most pressing to these academic leaders. The full-day conference on Tuesday...
Merryman to receive the 2014 Y.C. Fung Young Investigator Award from ASME
Feb. 12, 2014—Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering W. David Merryman has been awarded the 2014 Y.C. Fung Young Investigator Award from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). The prestigious Y.C. Fung award was established in 1985 to recognize young investigators who are committed to pursuing research in the field of bioengineering and have demonstrated significant potential...
Dawant, Rosenthal to serve on Provost search committee
Feb. 12, 2014—Chancellor Nicholas S. Zeppos has named a committee including a Board of Trust member, two top administrators and a number of faculty members who will search for the next Vanderbilt University provost. Benoit Dawant, Cornelius Vanderbilt Chair in Engineering, professor of electrical engineering, professor of radiology and radiological sciences and professor of biomedical engineering; and...
NSF grant helps Vanderbilt train ‘engineering ambassadors’
Feb. 6, 2014—Vanderbilt University has received a competitive award from Penn State to host an National Science Foundation–supported workshop to establish a new outreach program that will train students to become ambassadors in engineering education for area middle- and high-school students. The money will be used by the university’s School of Engineering and the campus Center for...